Not the pictures of celebrities from the catwalk but deep sky objects that are invisible to human eye.In its early days (around 1839) photography had a hard time breaking through.Luckily the astronomers were there to give photography a boost.

The astronomers were there when Daguerre’s and Nièpce’s discoveries were announced in the French parliament. François Arago, French member of parliament and astronomer, granted both discoverers their pension but at the same time he stated that the primary mission of photography was to support astronomers in their discoveries.

François Arago was visionary about the possibilities and the impact photography could have on the sciences and especially on astronomy. He announced the moon photography and the possibility of a photographic moon atlas.

About sixty years later the French astronomers Moritz Loewy and Pierre-Henri Puiseux made the first photographic moon atlas (1894). A fine example of a photo of the moon by Loewy and Puiseux can be seen in the exhibition.

François Arago also spoke about the possibility to take photos of the stars and discover worlds beyond the naked eye.

Under the impulse of Admiral Amédée Mouchez, again a French astronomer, the major observatories worldwide started the ambitious project to photograph all the stars. The idea of the Carte Photographique du Ciel (1911 – 1940) was born. The Royal Observatory of Belgium was one of these observatories. The project failed but was a milestone in astronomy.

Solar eclipses have always been a photogenic subject. Amateur as well as professionals made lots of photos of eclipses. Photographing a solar eclipse is a challenge to render the solar atmosphere visible.

Both this historical relationship and our personal interest in the subject have resulted in a strong focus in the exhibition on this unique marriage between science and art.